City takes next step toward demolishing old YMCA

The old YMCA building and former charter school location is one step closer to being demolished. The Mansfield City Council voted to allow the city to use PRIDE dollars to demolish the structure at 455 Park Avenue West.(Photo11: Jason J. Molyet/News Journal)Buy Photo

MANSFIELD -The city is taking the next steps toward demolishing the old YMCA building on Park Avenue West.

Mansfield City Council on Tuesday night voted to allow the city to use PRIDE dollars to demolish the building, 455 Park Avenue West.

Codes and permits manager J.R. Rice said this does not mean the city will be demolishing the building. It just means if the city does decide to demolish it, PRIDE dollars can be used.

"This just gives the City of Mansfield the right to use PRIDE dollars for this demolition, should we decide to do so," he said. "It doesn't automatically mean we're going to demolish this building, but it gives us the right to demolish it with PRIDE dollars."

Rice said if the city does decide to demolish the building, it could be as soon as sometime this year.

"We're hoping to get that done this year," he said. "We've been trying to get this thing demolished for quite some time."

Rice said the city received an unofficial cost estimate of $400,000 for just demolition costs, not including an asbestos abatement, which could get costly.

Rice emphasized the $400,000 is not an official bid, so an actual cost to demolish the building could be higher or lower.

"We're not committing to this demolition," Rice said. "If the numbers come in where they're reasonable, we may consider demolishing the YMCA... We're strongly considering this demolition."

Rice said the city currently has $1.5 million available in PRIDE demolition funding.

But Mayor Tim Theaker said he doesn't want to spend all of that on the Y demolition.

"I don't want to deplete all of the PRIDE funds just for one building," he said.

Rice recommended the city demolish more commercial structures, like the old Y, with the PRIDE money, as the Richland County Land Bank has handled hundreds of residential demolitions in the last few years using NIP, or Neighborhood Initiative Program, funding.

In 2017, there were 121 residential dwellings demolished in the city using NIP funds and 25 residential dwellings demolished with PRIDE dollars.

"As long as the NIP funds are available for the residential demolitions, I think it would behoove us to do some commercial demolitions with the PRIDE dollars, because NIP funds cannot do commercial demolitions," Rice said.

Rice named a church on the city's north side in "horrible condition" and a commercial building at Cleveland Avenue and South Diamond Street that should both come down.

If the city did decide to demolish the old YMCA, it would first need to receive official demolition and asbestos abatement bids.

After the demolition with PRIDE dollars, the city would issue an invoice for the cost of the demolition to the current property owner.

According to county property records, the owner is listed as 455 Park Avenue LLC, a limited liability company with an address in Reynoldsburg.

The city would then assess the demolition costs to the Richland County auditor, who would eventually foreclose on the property.

Rice said the city or the county could then become the owner of the site.

The PRIDE tax, first approved by residents in 2013, and in effect starting in 2014, helped the city emerge from fiscal emergency. Funds from the PRIDE tax were earmarked for use in fighting blight and demolition, safety services, street lights and parks and recreation.

According to News Journal records, ground was broken for the old Y structure in 1954, and the YMCA/YWCA facility opened on May 13, 1956.

The Mansfield Area Y moved to its current location on Scholl Road in 2000.

The property served most recently as home to charter schools, which have since moved to other locations.

Mansfield Community School moved into the building in August 2003, according to News Journal records.

Constellation Schools sold the former YMCA for $24,000 to 455 Park Avenue LLC in April 2013, according to the county auditor.

The city installed a fence near the front portion of the building in January 2017 to stop people from wandering near or into the abandoned structure, which has damage to the roof.

According to News Journal records, the city issued a demolition order for the property Oct. 16, 2016, clearing the way to eventually tear the building down.

City officials decided to proceed toward a demolition order in the fall of 2016, concerned about a string of break-ins at the building.